Vol'täíre
by TryynityBelle
Summary: An Elder Scrolls Fan-fiction. Vol'täíre (Vul-tay-ear), is lesser Daedric prince/turned Vampire. He seeks vengeance toward Molag Bal, his ex-master for the loss of his lover.
1. Introduction

I was captivated from the very first moment of our meeting. A slender man, of about six foot something, stood framed by the elegant oak of my open doorway. Cascades of platinum blonde hair fell in soft ringlets down and past his shoulders. The word porcelain doll came to mind - an elegant, animated, man-doll. He was beautiful, dressed in a black frock coat and breeches, silk I think, like something straight out of a Jane Austen romance novel.

"Come in... please," I almost begged. He smiled a little smile just briefly before accepting. Moving with the grace of a dancer, he glided across the room to seat himself in the visitor's chair. "Help yourself to a drink or some food if you wish, " I said as I gestured to the antique oak-bar off to one side of the room. It was magically stocked and replenished to meet the desires of all that sought refreshment from it.

His finely boned face tilted toward the bar, surveying the bounty momentarily as he considered my proposal. "No thank you pet, I shall decline. But… " He paused and stood. Moving over to the bar he helped himself to a large glass and filled it with a deep red liquid and returned offering the drink to me."For you."

"Oh, ...err thanks, but... I don't drink."

"I know. But you will like this, I promise. Go ahead try it, for me," He purred.

I looked up into silvery blue eyes, and soon found myself reaching for the glass. I held it weakly, I really did not want it, but yet…

"Just a sip, if you don't like it you can stop." He interjected my thoughts.

I took a sip, and then another. Before I knew it the glass was empty. He hadn't lied, it was divine. "What was it?" I asked.

"A secret." He winked, and I blushed and he seated himself once more.

Several long moments later, our interview began.

"Thank you for coming. My name is Trynnity Belle. May I have yours?"

"My true name is unpronounceable and impossible to write. There is no written language for my kind. So I shall give you the name I took for myself, yes? Voltäíre, Voltäíre Darkwing. The surname is that of my late husband, Nikolai Darkwing."

"Vol-tay-ear…"I repeated. "Lovely, mysterious even. Does it have a meaning?"

"Possibly, but not one that is known to me. Would you like to give it meaning? You can if you wish. I would like to hear it. What should it mean I wonder ?"

I wanted to say, 'beautiful man', but I could not form the words - thankfully. Instead I blushed, and he smiled a knowing smile and fluttered his long lashes at me.

"Thank you, you honor me." He tipped his head forward in a soft nod.

I swallowed, hard.

"Well… " My voice cracked and I cleared my throat and tried again."Well, Voltäíre. What is your story?"

He laughed softly, "How much time do you have pet, my story is a _very_ long one for I am quite old."

"How old?"

"Ancient old. I am from a time before there was time, originally. But that is just one version of me. Let us begin from the time just before I came what, who I am now, yes?"

I nodded. "Okay, sure."

Vol'täíre took a deep breath and began. "It all began when I got tired of simply watching mortals from a distance. I wanted to be up close, and personal. They had always fascinated me. So weak and fragile, yet entirely resilient, like roaches almost. In particular the highly intelligent ones drew my interest the most. Nikolai was one such man, a Mage and a Vampire, made so by my master. It was from his close association with the man that he procured my attention. So I made myself flesh and apprenticed myself to him."

"Your master?"

"Molag Bal."

"Who?"

"The Lord of Domination and Enslavement. Father of Vampires? The God of Brutality?"

I shook my head. "Nevermind, he doesn't sound like someone I should like to know."

Vol'taiire smirked and crossed his legs. "You have no idea pet."

"Sorry for interrupting please continue."

"Think nothing of it, by all means. I would rather listen to your voice anyway."

"Oh!" I giggled. "Umm, well okay. He was your master then what are...were you?"

"A lesser Daedric prince, pet. In your vernacular the word demon would best describe my truest form. Molag Bal, a greater Daedric prince and therefore - by rights only, my better."

I did not reply to this, I knew the word demon only too well. I wanted to be afraid, I felt like I should be but I found myself unusually calm.

"Fear not pet. You are not at risk, that is not why I am here. Would you like another drink?"

I shook my head no.

"As you wish. So it wasn't long before Nikolai and I formed an unlikely bond with each other." Voltäíre paused, sadness evident on his fine features. His eyes glistened slightly under the threat of tears. The pain he felt was very deep. "He offered to turn me, and I accepted."

"Turn you? Into… a vampire?"

Voltäíre nodded. "Yes pet, a vampire. This angered Molag Bal. No, it infuriated him. I was his, and his alone. So he compelled my love to kill himself. "Our love was deep, our connection deeper… I almost did not survive my loss."

"I am so sorry Voltäíre, truly." I reached out across the desk to touch his hand, to comfort him. The room had chilled noticeably, as if his sorrow now emanated from him. I touched his gloved hand and he glanced up at me appreciatively; but he remained silent in his suffering for those few long moments.

The large grandfather clock in the room marked each passing moment loudly as I waited for my visitor to continue in his time. Gradually the chill receded as the vampire regained composure once more.

"Forgive me, it is a hard tale to relay. As the evidence before you attests, I did survive. I turned against my ex-master and did everything in my considerable power to become a thorn in his side. I can not kill him, nor he I, so the battle is long. But vengeance is largely patient and long lived. This is a good thing for I have a very long life ahead of me in which to enjoy it." Voltäíre chuckled softly. "I shall stop here, for now, but I should like to continue at another time if you grant me the privilege of meeting with you again. For that is just the beginning, and there is much to tell, if you are interested that is."

"I am, oh yes. Please come back... When? Tomorrow?"

"Perhaps pet, we shall see." Voltäíre stood and took my hand in his and kissed it lightly. It was a good thing I was sitting down because I think I damn well might have fallen over in a dead faint otherwise. "Until we meet again, my pet." He winked and turned briskly and exited.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 1

It was several days later when Vol'täíre returned. I turned up at my office to find him lounging on a chair with a red wine in hand. I stood briefly in the doorway, a mixture of surprise and elation. The vampire took the opportunity to rise swiftly, placing his drink carefully upon the desk he bowed gracefully in greeting.

"Good morning to you Ms Belle. I trust this day finds you well?"

"Hello Vol'täíre, it's nice to see you again. I am well thanks, yes. You?"

"I am doing splendidly pet, all the more so now you have graced me with your presence."

I smiled and headed over to my desk, trying ever so hard to walk naturally feeling his gaze remain on me. Vol'täíre took up his glass once more and sat down as I removed my coat and hung it over the back of the chair and placed my bag down beside it.

Overcome with shyness I played with my hair a little as I sat at my desk wondering where to take the interview next. Vol'täíre simply smiled back at me, clearly at ease with my apparent awkwardness.

"Aren't vampires supposed to sleep in the daytime?" I blurted.

Vol'täíre chuckled softly, "Ah Buffy 101. It varies pet, from vampire to vampire. It sometimes is preferable, yes. It is easier to move around at night, easier to remain hidden. Light also weakens, for some it burns."

"Do you sparkle too?"

At this the vampire sneered, "Most assuredly not!"

"What else can you tell me about vampires? More importantly you."

"Me, well now. Being a vampire does bring with it certain enviable attributes but not without cost. For instance, the simple illusion I have cast around myself; this is not my true visage you see, this draws from my essence - or rather the one I took from my last meal. Over time I weaken, if I do not replenish this essence, for a long enough time, I am rendered a useless husk. The more essence I draw on the quicker the process. So I use these gifts sparingly."

"Oh I didn't know that." I nodded.

"As for the gifts. I can move exceedingly fast. I can disappear entirely and reappear at another location. This is a great cost and takes much time to recover, there also needs to be a source readily available and waiting. So this is something I would do only if I absolutely have to. I heal faster, and I am physically stronger. All my senses are heightened: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Then there are mind skills, telepathy, telekinesis, and compulsion."

"You mentioned before you were an apprentice Mage. Are you a master of magic also?"

"A master? No. I am adept with the element, fire, this is my primary focus. Then there are my Daedric abilities. As a lesser daedra I had the skill of shapeshifting. I chose the form of Chimer which later became Dunmer when Azura threw her hissy fit. I was locked into that form and this plane when I was turned. I can no longer assume my daedric form or any other, at least until the death of this body. Both body and being is immortal, I can be killed - but it is difficult and even then I simply am released back into my daedric form."

"Would you miss being a vampire?"

"An interesting question. Yes and no. Being corporal has its advantages as well as disadvantages. There are things I would miss, like coupling… yes I would miss that greatly. Taste is another, particularly wine. Smell, you have no idea how delightful your scent is pet."

"Oh! Really? Ahh… oh… Im glad I showered before coming this morning…"

"That is not quite what I mean, if anything that lessens is so and taints it with falseness. Horrid smells of soaps and products. Your natural scent is quite lovely, as are you." He smiled a faint smile and I could not help but blush, again. I hate my body sometimes.

"Do you want to eat me?"

Vol'täíre paused and quirked a brow, "Is that an invitation pet?"

"No… oh no. I mean, how do you manage to _not_ eat me?"

"Self control pet. How is it anyone does or does not do anything? If you are referring to blood-lust. It does take some years to learn to manage it, but it is much like any kind of hunger. I am at my worst when my reserves are low. I assure you I am quite satisfied at present."

"Are you using any of your _gifts_ now on me?"

The vampire allowed the question to hang there between us for a few long moments before answering. "No. Only the illusion of my visage, it hides my less alluring vampiric appearance for a more favourable one. Perhaps in time when I earn your trust and vice versa I will reveal my true form. I assure you it is not the look popular with Hollywood vampire movies, but still, most find it difficult to look upon a vampire without recoiling in some measure of horror. I would be most injured if I elicited that response from you my pet, so for now I remain as you see me."

"You would? Oh... truly?"

"Of course I would. I still have a heart… it is not beating, but it feels still."

"Yes, I guess so… I forgot you were in love once."

"Once? I still am… he is gone but I still feel as strongly as I did, perhaps more so." Vol'täíre sighed a long sigh. "That will never fade to nothing. Like I said it was more than just love, we shared a bond. He as my maker, my sire, and this bound me to him of course that was the reason for me agreeing to it. I wanted that link, the tie. This is what angered Molag Bal so intensely. Nikolai became the one I served with my all. My master is a jealous god, he suffers no other masters."

"It is so very sad, I would like to know more about Nikolai… but I would not want to make you sad. So I will not ask, but if you find yourself able… would you?"

"Perhaps pet, perhaps. You are right it is very difficult to speak of, but in my memories he lives once again. So indeed I will endeavour to brave the telling at some future time. If it would pleasure you so."

A little chill ran down my back in the way he said that… they was no denying my attraction to him. I wondered what he thought of me. At least I smelt good right, but was I attractive or just a potential food source. I looked across at him to find him watching me, a soft smile creasing the corners of his mouth and I remembered then that he was telepathic and I looked away. He said nothing, he just let me wonder.

I cleared my throat and rifled through my desk drawers. "Well thank you Vol'täíre, I will look forward to it. So many dream of that kind of love you and he had, I can only hope that maybe one day I may find similar."

"I hope you do, truly. Even if you lose it. It is true what they say 'it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all'. I would do it all again still knowing the ending."

I smiled at him. I could see the edge of sadness in his eyes breaking through his composure, my heart ached for his loss. He looked so alone, I was likely to see much more of him I thought and I definitely wasn't going to complain. But I would keep things businesslike and formal. Yep, most certainly. No schoolgirl-like-crush shenanigans for this girl. Above board and respectable. Yesiree.

"I am sensing perhaps this is a good point in which to bring our little chat to a close yes? Unless you have anything further to discuss. I am a big fan of little and often. Do you agree?"

"Well yes, I have never really thought about it, but yes. Do you mind if I make notes?"

"Not at all pet, perhaps you will write a novel about me hmmm. You could call it something like My Interview with a Vampire or My Vampire Diaries. Or simply… Vol'täíre."

"Oh no these interviews are private."

"Are they just. Well, I give you that freedom should you change your mind. Feel free." He rose and bowed gracefully. "It has been a pleasure my pet. I look forward greatly to our next rendezvous. Until then, take care, yes?"

"Goodbye, Vol'täíre." I watched him leave the room and for a long while after my mind mulled over our meeting. "Yep, businesslike." I whispered to no one.


End file.
